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Robertson's MP3tunes Hires Famous Hacker "DVD Jon"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2005 - 10:13am.
San Francisco - Michael Robertson, the founder of pioneering digital music site MP3.com and current head of a venture called MP3tunes, has hired Jon Lech Johansen, the 21-year-old Norwegian hacker who became famous for cracking the industry's DVD security technology, Wired News reported on Wednesday. "I have no idea what I'll be doing, but I know it will be reverse engineering, and I'm sure it will be interesting," Johansen told Wired News. Johansen added that a stopover in San Francisco on the way to Robertson's San Diego operations was made in part to consult with lawyers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital civil liberties group that has defended other programmers sued by the U.S. government for cracking copy-protection technologies. Distributors of DVD copying software based on Johansen's hacking, including 321 Studios, have been sued out of existence by the U.S. entertainment industry. Robertson told Wired News that Johansen will be put to work on a project called "Obeo" at MP3tunes, which sells digital songs in unprotected MP3 format.
tags: MP3tunes | Robertson | Hacker | DVD Jon |

Sony PSP Software Update to Close Hacker Security Breach

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2005 - 3:21am.
San Francisco - Sony plans to release a software update for its PSP handheld game system that closes a loophole that allowed hackers to create and run their own software and potentially pirated games on the device, CNET News.com reported. "It is not...what the device was designed for," Sony Computer Entertainment America spokesman Patrick Seybold told News.com. "We plan to deal with this issue with the next system update." The release will be the second such update; when hackers cracked the software that shipped with the PSP, Sony offered an upgrade that patched the hole, and also included a Web browser and Wi-Fi photo sharing capabilities in attempt to entice users to download the optional software.
tags: Sony PSP | Software Update | Hacker | Security Breach |

Norwegian DVD Security Hacker Takes on Apple's iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 25, 2003 - 7:01am.
Oslo -- The Norwegian hacker Jon Lech Johansen, nicknamed "DVD Jon," who broke the encryption code for DVDs when he was 15 years old, has struck again, Norwegian online news daily IT-avisen reported this week. DVD Jon has reportedly now posted software code that can be used to evade the copy-protection technology embedded on songs purchased from Apple's iTunes digital music store, so that the songs may be freely copied. CNET News.com reported that, "if other developers -- or Johansen himself -- pursue the project, it could herald the arrival of simple ripping programs that could create unprotected music files from iTunes songs as simply as from an ordinary compact disc."
tags: Apple | DVD | iTunes | Norwegian | Hacker |

Hacker Gets Linux to Run on Xbox; Lays Claim to $100,000 Prize

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2003 - 3:45am.
San Francisco -- A hacker has successfully been able to enable Linux software to run on an unmodified Microsoft Xbox video game console, making him eligible for a $100,000 prize offered by MP3.com founder and current Lindows CEO Michael Robertson, CNET News.com reported. A group of programmers calling itself the Xbox Linux project organized the challenge, which was met by a hacker using the name "Habibi-Xbox." The hacker discovered a bug in the popular game "007: Agent Under Fire" that allows the Linux operating system to be uploaded onto the Xbox. Microsoft has targeted companies selling "mod chips," or aftermarket devices that allow Linux, or possibly pirated games, to run on Xbox by altering the device's hardware; the contest's winner was successful in finding a way to run Linux on the Xbox without altering any hardware. http://news.com.com/2100-1043-994794.html?tag=cd_mh
tags: Xbox | Hacker | Linux |